Why hasn't that steering wheel gone away?

There's no reason the ubiquitous steering wheel can't be replaced by a joystick-or is there?

Several years ago, I attended a technology conference at MIT, organized by Technology Review magazine. Lots of high-level industry leaders were there, almost all from the engineering side rather than marketing. Some of the speakers gave broad overviews of the present state of a technology or application, while others focused on predictions about the near and long-term future.

One talk I remember clearly was given by the technology head at Ford Motor Company (sorry, I don’t remember his name). He said that in a few years, most cars on the market would not have steering wheels; they would be replaced by joysticks. It made sense, he pointed out, since the "younger generation" had been raised on video games and their controls, and would be quite comfortable with this non-traditional way of steering the car.

With the continued deployment of control-by-wire in cars, it makes a lot of sense electrically, too: no need for a steering wheel and associated assembly to turn a shaft encoder which, in turn, controls the wheel-steering mechanism via electronically controlled motors or valves. He added that he could envision that cars would next get rid of the accelerator and brake pedals, also to be replaced by hand-controller buttons or a joystick.

Besides the user-comfort factor, this change made lots of financial and production sense, he added. A joystick box is far cheaper in BOM and raw materials than a steering-wheel assembly. A repositionable joystick control also makes it easier to engineer a car to be sold world-wide, since some countries have the driver on the left and others have the driver on the right (designing and building cars for right-hand and left-hand markets is a real engineering and production headache). The joystick also frees up lots of front room, and gives the car designer much more flexibility in cabin design.

Well, long story short, we know how this prediction turned out. You don't see any standard cars without the steering wheel, which has been in use over a hundred years (it replaced the steering tiller of the first cars).

So my question is, why not? Is it due to real or perceived liability issues? Customer preference and potential discomfort? The inevitable time-lag in getting major chages adopted by the public? Regulatory iussues and car inspection regulations? The feeling of "control" that a steering wheel imparts?

I don’t know, of course, and I suspect the answer is a combination in unknown proportions of many or all of the above, and perhaps some other factors. On one side, it makes very logical sense, and on the other, it just isn’t happening.

What do you think are the reasons? After all, sometimes, the market is a strong force for change; and sometimes--due to cultural forces or innate human nature--it doesn't follow the logical dictates of the engineer or a technology.

Are there other "it absolutely makes sense" consumer-product changes which you think about, and which our technology now allows, but haven't been adopted yet? ♦

A couple weeks ago those nice folks at my local Chevy dealership replaced the electric power steering motor in my Cobalt due to a recall for high failure rate. If the motor had actually failed while driving, the existing rack and pinion mechanical linkage would still have allowed me some control of the vehicle.
Forget that with a joystick. Good for video games, but not in the real world.

I shudder at the thought of driving along at highway speeds where a twitch or accidental nudge of a joystick could send my car careening off the road or into the oncoming lane. As novel and intuitive as those of the video-game generation would regard joystick steering, I think the steering wheel embodies several key aspects of tactile and visual feedback, as well as safe movement inertia, that would be very difficult to translate meaningfully to a joystick. Even after those problems are addressed, you still introduce a new layer of classification of driver training and licensing since I can't see a "wheel" taught driver drive a joystick car without additional training. That translates into more time and cost to the driver, a formidable barrier to the introduction of anything "new".
I get the sense the Ford exec was being somewhat toungue-in-cheek about the joystick for wheel swap; his underlying intent was probably a nod towards the benefits of drive-by-wire technology in the overall cost, fuel efficiency, and consumer acceptance of cars in the future. Drive-by-wire using a wheel can address the Left-hand/right-hand international market requirement without foisting onto drivers the joystick learning curve plus an extra layer of licensing process. It's up to engineers and designers like us to improve and reduce the cost and weight of the technology that makes drive-by-wire a reality.

"Are there other "it absolutely makes sense" consumer-product changes which you think about, and which our technology now allows, but haven't been adopted yet?"
How about get rid of the center console cup and CD holders, place a passenger seat on both right and left, and place the steering wheel and driver's seat in the middle. No more left/right issues and room for an extra passenger for car pooling. Might have to make the vehicle a few centimeters wider to give the driver elbow room.
Just wondering, does anyone know if the standard floor pedal and steering wheel arrangement was ever patented? Or were such things considered too obvious back then?

Everyday, so many pilots fly different aircraft machine at much higher speed with many more complex task. However, they are properly trianed for the system. Eventually, system will become more friendly and common person will quicly learn how to use it.

The thought of a servo motor failure with a joystick controlled car should scare you. However, even with a steering wheel, drive by wire without a mechanical connection between steering wheel and steering rack, is on the way. Soon it won't matter if it's a joystick or wheel, the failure mode will be just as likely or unlikely and just as catastrophic.

Aircraft have backup systems to compensate for failures.
It is not a question of "common person" learning how to use a joystick. It is a fact that silicon fails. Shorted or open, silicon fails without warning. I have replaced enough failed transistors to know this.